Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-09-15
LETTER FROM DELAWARE.
WILMINGTON, Sept.


largest city in the State. That is the
way we used to say it when we went to
school, and if / remember correctly, it
seemed very dry bit of information.
If we could carry kindergarten methods
into Grammar departments, more than
we do, the study of geography might be
made a recreation, for there IS good
deal of real interest centering about
every place--but home. Associate these
interesting things with places and dates
in the mind of the pupil and the dry
details of the study would be remem-
bered more easily. We are glad to
know that much has already been done
in this direction.
Wilmington has nearly sixty thousand
population, some ten thousand of which
are colored. 1t is back three or four
miles from the river, but Christianna
and Brandywine creeks which flow into
the Delaware just east Of the city, afford
a good barber for shipping. These
creeks are about as large as the Milwau-
kee river and at high tide will float any
ordinary ocean craft. The Brandywlne
is the same one we read about in history
behind which Washington and LaFay-
cite posted themselves over a hundred
years ago and fought the English forces
TO prevent their entrance into Philadel-
phia. They say some landmarks of that
struggle yet remain. / want to take a
horse back ride over the ground and
trace out if possible the movements of
the troops.
The city is chiefly noteworthy as a
manufacturing point. Ships, bridges,
palace cars, passenger coaches, freight
cars, locomotives, engines, boilers,
machinery of all kinds, tools, iron and
steel plates, car wheels, axis, window
glass, gun powder, dynamite, fire arms,
phosphate, Morocco leather, patent
leather, Porpoise leather, and dental
supplies, are some of the things manu-
featured here which come to my mind
as [ write, but the list is not complete.
They also have very large paper mills,
wollen mills, and feed and -four mills
here, but probably the ship yards, car
works and leather industries employ
more than half the labor element. Just
now when our attention is drawn to the
yacht ''Volunteer" which is soon to
compete with the English yacht
s'Thistle" for the American cup, it
might be interesting to note that she
was launched here only few months
since. The hull is made entirely of
steel. There has also been much
written of Vanderbilts yacht Alva-one
of the finest crafts afoat. That was also
built here, and by the way the Alva has
the largest boilers probably ever built
being over eighteen feet in diameter
Very many of the largest bridges in the
United States have been made here
and the works for the purpose are not
excelled anywhere. But in spite of all
this industry which would make a
western city fairly hum, Wilmington is
an old foggy of a town, with miserable
hotels and restaurants, very few fine
stores and only fair markets. The city
is beautifully laid out with wide avenues
and streets on slightly rolling ground,
but these have been almost spoiled by
cobble stone pavement. The sewer
system, too, think must be in a
wretched state.
The aristeeratic black woman with
her startling array of co1ors, and the
half-dressed negro boy mingle in the
cars and on the streets with the white
people in way that is interesting to
one who has lived so much of his life in
the north. Horses are driven tandem
here agreat deal, especially IN hauling
heavy loads such as brick and sand
Bicycle and Tricycle. riding is very COM
mon and it lisa very pretty thing indeed
to see troop of young girls with their
tricycles taking run down Delaware
Ave. The sidewalks are sixteen feet
wide and so afford an. excellent oppor-
tunity for that sort of thing. 1t is a
delightful country hereabouts, at least
SAAio CAShC VI IIlC I1NCIs IL 10 llltChIy
settled and railway stations are close to-
gether, on all average [ should say, not
more than mile apart. 1t is like
garden all the way from here to Phila-
delphia. Fine farms, country seats,
patches of woodland, occasional
glimpses of the river and its towns, and
every station house designed for thing
of beauty and placed in park of
flowers and shrubery and green lawns,
are all delight to the eye; but it is, as
my landlady says, ''Thee must see it to
appreciate it." The southern part of
New Jersey is not good. The soil is
sandy and only fit to raise watermeIons
and sweet potatoes for which it is quite
famous. They bring their garden truck
over here by the sloopload and when
we 90 down town in the morning we
often see their water-melons piled in
huge pyramids in the streets. Their
markets here are mostly in the streets
and along the curb line but the cobble
stones are swept quite clean and it